Best. Cookies. Ever.

I have heard these cookies go by many names: Chocolate Crackles, Christmas Crinkles, and Snow Caps, to name a few. Most recognize them as a popular choice when baked goods are called for during the holidays. They are my favorite cookie, and I consider them almost deadly when peanut butter filling is baked into the centers.

Here's a nearly-NSFW photo of the filling:

Deadly.

Chocolate Cookie Ingredients:

1½ C flour

½ C unsweetened cocoa powder

½ tsp baking soda

½ C butter, salted

½ granulated sugar

½ brown sugar

¼ C peanut butter

1 egg

1 tbs milk (I used soy)

1 tsp vanilla extract

Peanut Butter Filling Ingredients:

½ C peanut butter

¾ C confectioners sugar

Sift together flour, cocoa powder and baking soda, set aside. Beat together butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and ¼ C of peanut butter. Add egg, milk and vanilla, mixing well. Mix in dry ingredients. Form into 32 equally portioned balls.

For the filling, sift the confectioners sugar and add the rest of the peanut butter until smooth. Portion this dough into 32 balls, as well.

Lay the balls of chocolate balls out on parchment and lightly flatten each one. I covered them with a small square of parchment and flattened them with my hand. Place a portion of the peanut butter dough on top of each piece of chocolate dough, as pictured below, and shape the chocolate around the peanut butter.

Roll the balls in confectioners sugar and place 2" apart on a parchment lined sheet tray. Lightly flatten each one, as pictured above. Bake at 350℉ for 4 minutes, rotate, and bake for 4 more minutes. They're done baking when they start to display their trademark cracked top.

One more gratuitous shot:

Celiac Disease On the Rise

A new Mayo Clinic study published this month provides evidence that Celiac Disease is now more than four times more prevalent than it was 50 years ago.

Read the Mayo Clinic report, as published in the medical journal Gastroenterology. Or, this article is less technical and easier to peruse.

Celiac Disease is also called gluten intolerance and is different from a gluten allergy. Gluten is the protein present in wheat, barley, rye, spelt and kamut. Allergic reactions to gluten come with run-of-the-mill anaphylactic symptoms: swollen throat, itchy face, stomach problems. For those with CD, gluten attacks the walls of the intestines and prevents them from properly absorbing nutrients. A disturbingly wide array of problems have been linked to CD, including weight problems, severe rashes, anemia, infertility, ADHD, clinical depression, loss of teeth, chronic fatigue syndrome, and even cognitive decline leading to dementia. Gluten-free diets are even used as treatment for autism and other spectrum disorders. Some believe gluten (and dairy) cause autism; others believe that the gluten-free diet simply relieves discomforting symptoms of CD in persons with spectrum disorders. An autistic child who happens to be gluten intolerant would certainly be happier on a gluten-free diet, and thus would likely have an easier time dealing with autism.

Testing for CD is as simple as a blood test. It's estimated that for every person diagnosed with CD, 30 people are undiagnosed, or worse, their symptoms are misdiagnosed and treated with unnecessary medication.

Why the sudden spike in Celiacs? Researchers are keeping their speculations to themselves. The medical community seems to chalk the increase up to "environment factors," which seems awfully vague and rather obvious.

Check back for some great gluten-free recipes!

Bonjour, Canapé!

Hello and welcome to my new food blog!

I plan to fill this space with recipes, photos and gushing narratives about my latest creations, as well as restaurant reviews, food news and commentaries about my experiences with and around edibles of all sorts.

I currently work with The Balanced Kitchen, which is vegan, gluten-free, organic, local and sustainable. I also work independently as a Chef-for-hire. My posts will be inspired by my experiences in both endeavors, as well my personal kitchen.

Today's Topic: Canapés!

This is a recent creation from The Balanced Kitchen. I can't take all the credit; as with all the food from TBK, these were a collaborative effort from myself and the three other wonderful members of our kitchen: Betty, Neil and Kristen. We created these hors d'oeuvres, as well as three other varieties, for a catering event. The base is a slice of kohlrabi, onto which I piped a creamy broccoli mash, topped with a slice of miniature radish and red cabbage sprouts. All of the produce that went into this was grown locally and organically. They each measured about 1" in diameter, making them cute as well as delicious. They remind me of a tiny, lush islands, which led me to feel like a pillaging giant when I popped one in my mouth.

This particular type of hors d'oeuvres is technically called a canapé. Canapés possess three essential elements: base, spread and garnish.

Base: In this case, we used kohlrabi, thinly sliced and cut into uniform rounds with a round cutter from a graduated set (sometimes called biscuit cutters). One can use anything for a base, as long as it can be made into an appropriate size and texture. The most popular base is the ubiquitous crostini, a toasted, thinly sliced piece of baguette. As most canapés are held from the base before meeting someone's mouth, the base needs to be firm and secure. Crisp or crunchy textures are best.

Spread: The spread goes directly on top of the base, and can be piped (as seen above) or, of course, spread with an utensil. For our broccoli mash, we processed blanched broccoli with Tofutti brand vegan sour cream and Better Than Cream Cheese, Earth Balance Buttery Spread, and a touch of Dijon mustard. Common spreads include compound butters (butter + cayenne and honey, butter + curry and orange zest, butter + anything) and herbed cream cheese.

Garnish: Garnishes are any food items placed on top of the spread. In our example above, the radish and sprouts are the garnish. I generally prefer two garnishes on a canapé—a larger one, serving as the main component or taste, and a tiny one, contributing more to the appearance than the flavor profile.

Size is very important when it comes to canapés. More than two bites each is too much. Imagine your guest holding a cocktail in one hand and a canapé in the other. Can they easily eat, drink and schmooze all at once? When you're dreaming up ingredients, I suggest thinking of one strong flavor, such as horseradish or smoked salmon. Now think of some foods with complimentary (but much blander) tastes, like filet mignon and dill, or chive and cream cheese, respectively. Don't be too ambitious. Canapés with three ingredients can easily be made to look identical, while 8 ingredients can be messy, time consuming, and just too confusing on your guests' tongue.

Here are photos of the other hors d'oeuvres made for this particular event:

Roasted Celeriac, Carrot Mash, Fennel Sprouts

Beet and Rhubarb Tartlet, Sprouts, Sour Cream
Sauteed Tofu, Cashew Cheese, Chive and Roasted Potato (the flower is from our chive plant, edible and flavorful!)